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i figured i would throw a review up of this last mod that i got.. to be honest, i wasn't sure if i would feel any difference installing a rear shock brace... my current suspension setup is already pretty stiff. the main advantage i saw in this bar is to help prevent damage to the rear shock towers... definitely not a common occurrence but it is something to be wary of when running a stiff suspension.

the bar itself is heavier than you would think. it probably weighs between 5-6 lbs and it feels sturdy...it has a no hinge design so it is rigid and allows for much less flex. some things to note.. the reinforcment plates that are welded to the bar are not symmetrical... one plate is straight while the other is at a 15 degree angle or so... i thought this was odd but apparently this is completely in line with the way the shocks mount to the e46 chassis. the bar went on quickly and easily and there was no fighting or drilling necessary. i did a pretty crappy job cutting the carpet. i initially had the two rectangular pieces missing so that i could adjust my shocks... i did have to do a bit of additional cutting lower down so that the bar wouldn't be obstructed by excess material.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

after installing the bar i took a drive around to see what i noticed... the main thing was that the ride was noticeably firmer... not in a bad way by any means.. the car just picked up smaller bumps more than it usually would.. i did take it for a spirited drive up the mountain. i could not reaaally feel a huge deal there but with anything related to suspension... it's a combination of all mods working together that yield results. also something to note; this impromptu drive i did was on my 16's with 205/55/16 continental all season tires. also being a public road, i wasn't at the limits of grip very often. this may very well be a different story once i have my SSRs with starspecs or slicks in a racing situation. i'll be more likely to cause the chassis to flex under those circumstances.

For anyone who may be interested, I have the parts to make five more bars and two are already claimed. After that, I may just move onto making shock tower reinforcement plates and putting some rear shock mount kits together.

I assume this mod does not help with the chassis flexing when going over uneven, right?

There's no way for me to measure the chassis stiffness but if anything, the bar does prevent chassis flex especially because it's a one piece bar. I'd say it's kind of similar to our cars with fold down rear seats vs non folding rear seats. If you see the numbers, the one with the non folding rear seat has a much stiffer chassis because of the sheet metal thats acts as a brace by connecting both sides of the trunk together.